Weis helped drag Irish down in coaches poll

September 08, 2006|ERIC HANSEN Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- Maybe Charlie Weis wasn't so bothered that the Notre Dame football team dropped in the polls this week, because, after all, Weis was partly responsible. "We study all the teams and all the games, and we vote ourselves accordingly," the Irish second-year head coach said after Thursday's practice session. "Like we dropped ourselves this week." More than one spot? "Yes more than one spot," Weis said, but he wouldn't reveal any additional details. Notre Dame slipped from a tie for third in the coaches poll to a tie for fifth after a 14-10 victory at Georgia Tech Saturday night. The Irish fell from No. 2 to a tie for fourth in the AP writers poll. The Irish (1-0) host 19th-ranked Penn State (1-0) Saturday. Weis was asked Thursday about his voting patterns after it came to light earlier this week that Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel was unaware that Stan Jefferson, Ohio State's director of player development, voted the Buckeyes No. 1 when he called in the poll for the coach rather than No. 2, where Tressel had placed them. "Tim McDonnell and I do this every week," Weis said referring to ND football's coordinator of quality control. Weis said he wouldn't be opposed to his ballot being made public as long as the rest of the coaches' were. "I try to do it with the honor of the game when I'm doing it," Weis said. Aldridge close but... Irish freshman running back James Aldridge won't play Saturday against Penn State, but he appears to be getting closer to seeing game action. Aldridge suffered an injury to his left knee in the offseason and has been on a short leash in drills until recently. "He's starting to cut now," Weis said. "I won't put him out there (in a game) until I know he can take a blow to his legs and not be afraid. I won't put him out there until that happens."